SoloDuo is guitar at high fidelity

Lorenzo Micheli, left, and Matteo Mela travel the world as SoloDuo. The classical guitar virtuosos will play Sunday at the Smiley Building.

Courtesy of SoloDuo

Lorenzo Micheli, left, and Matteo Mela travel the world as SoloDuo. The classical guitar virtuosos will play Sunday at the Smiley Building.

When one thinks of classical music, a duo is not what usually comes to mind. And when one thinks of guitars, rarely does the instrument conjure images of classical music.

SoloDuo lays to rest such preconceptions.

“They’re making a big splash in the guitar world right now, so when I saw they were near, I was excited,” said Ruth Cutcher, who teaches the Suzuki method of classical guitar to young students in Durango.

SoloDuo is Matteo Mela and Lorenzo Micheli, and their visit to Durango is a treat for those in the know. Mela lives in Switzerland and teaches at the Conservatoire Populaire in Geneva. Micheli is from Milan. He teaches classical guitar at the CSI Conservatory in Lugano, Switzerland, and at the Conservatory of Aosta, Italy.

“I compile lists for my students of upcoming concerts they should go to at (University of New Mexico), (University of Denver) and big schools, and when I saw they were playing in Albuquerque, I invited them,” Cutcher said.

Sunday afternoon’s event will be her first concert promotion. She was unable to get sponsorship for the concert locally so she’s taking on all of the risk herself and hopes the Durango population of acoustic and classical music lovers will provide enough of a crossover audience to make it successful.

“I was either going to say ‘never mind’ or ‘I’ll be a brand-new concert promoter’, and I think this is a special enough opportunity that I’ll take a chance,” she said.

It was a slim window with which Cutcher had to work – Mela and Micheli will play Boulder today, come to Durango on Sunday and will have only five days until their next performance in Fribourg, Switzerland. Their 2013 schedule also includes stops in Italy, France, Canada and Mexico before returning the U.S. early next year.

If you go

SoloDuo, classical guitar by Matteo Mela and Lorenzo Micheli, 5 p.m. Sunday at the Smiley Building, 1309 East Third Ave. Tickets cost $25, $10 for students and children, available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/301963. Video and audio samples are available at www.soloduo.it.